Positive Rate of Serology and RT-PCR for COVID-19 between Community Residents and Healthcare Workers in Wuhan, China.

This study aimed to evaluate infection rates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among different populations in Wuhan, China. This cross-sectional, survey-based study examined the results of SARS-CoV-2-specific serological tests and RT-PCR testing from 4454 community residents and 4614 healthcare workers from May 15 to May 29, 2020. Healthcare workers were classified as either administrative and logistical staff (n=1378), non-first-line healthcare workers (n=2630), or first-line healthcare workers (n=606) according to their frequency of contact with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients. The positive rates of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG, IgM, and RNA were 2.9%, 0.4%, and 0.1% in community residents, and 3.3%, 0.6%, and 0.2% in healthcare workers, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Spearman's correlation analyses showed that the frequency of contact with COVID-19 patients negatively correlated with the positive rates of RT-PCR (rs=-0.036, P=0.016), but did not significantly correlate with the positive rates of IgM (rs=-0.006, p=0.698) or IgG (rs=0.017, p=0.239). There was no statistically significant difference of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG, IgM, or RNA positive rates between community residents and healthcare workers. The positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was lower in first-line healthcare workers than that in non-first-line healthcare workers and administrative and logistical staff.